Alappuzha: The Alappuzha municipality on Thursday witnessed a rare change of guard at the helm with K K Jayamma of the CPM replacing her fellow party member Soumya Raj as its chairperson.
In an election held to the 52-member council in the morning, Jayamma, who represents the Nehru Trophy ward, bagged 35 votes. The proposal to install Jayamma as the municipal chairperson was part of a compromise formula to quell factionalism. The proposal stipulated both chairpersons share the post for an equal period of two-and-a-half years.
The elevation of Soumya Raj, a first-time councillor from the Eravukadu ward, as the municipal chairperson had triggered widespread protests with a section of CPI(M) workers taking out a public protest, accusing the party district leadership of accepting a bribe to nominate Soumya Raj over the more experienced Jayamma.
Meanwhile, the decision to replace Soumya Raj, under whom the civic body won several recognitions for waste management, has triggered a fresh bout of discontent within a section of the party cadre.
District Panchayat
In a related development, N S Sivaprasad of the Left Democratic Front was elected the Vice President of the Alappuzha District Panchayat unopposed.
A member of the CPI District Executive Committee, he represents the Vayalar division. As per a power-sharing agreement within the ruling front, Bibin C Babu of the CPM, who represents the Krishnapuram division, had been holding the seat for the first two-and-a-half years.
Following his election, Sivaprasad was accorded a felicitation by the CPI members, led by Agriculture Minister P Prasad.
